Home mobile inpatient care expansion

More patients in Singapore are getting hospital-type care at home with the expansion of a pilot programme that covers all public acute hospitals. The hospital's home care programme is among the four added to the Mobile Inpatient Care-at-Home scheme.

This will help ease hospital loads to allow space for more urgent cases and it will also save on costs.  It now includes specialist care like gynaecology, rehab and treatments for children. KK Women's and Children's Hospital said patients and parents are guided through each step to ensure that quality care is given at home.

Dr. Pearlly Chang, Consultant, KK Women's and Children's Hospital said "The nurses and the programme coordinator will also teach the parents how to measure the blood pressure and heart rate at home. So if the parent is able to do all this and comfortable with this, only then do we formally finalise the enrolment, and then we'll send the patient home on this programme. If it's necessary, we will dispatch an ambulance to bring the patient back to hospital." 

Selected patients with conditions classified under general medicine, like skin infections, can be admitted to a "virtual" ward, where they will have round-the-clock access to care delivered by a team of healthcare professionals via teleconsultations and home visits until deemed fit for discharge. As of June 2023, around 1,000 patients have benefited from the programme, resulting in an estimated savings of 7,000 bed days.